As of 1 May 2024, changes have been made to the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 to improve residential energy efficiency standards in new homes. The Modern Homes residential energy efficiency standards will be implemented through amendment of the existing Queensland Development Code 4.1 – Sustainable Buildings (QDC 4.1).

Residential energy efficiency requirements

New houses and units need to have:

• 7-star rating (out of 10) for the building shell (roof, walls, windows, and floors). Energy efficiency features may include good orientation, better insulation, ceiling fans and window design and a lighter coloured roof 
• whole-of-home energy use allowance that covers the energy use of the home’s major appliances and any on-site renewable energy such as a solar photovoltaic (PV) system. 

While Queensland will align with the NCC 2022 energy efficiency requirements, the optional one-star credit towards the building shell for inclusion of an outdoor living area will remain to ensure Queenslanders can take advantage of our outdoor living lifestyle and climate. 

To align Queensland with the NCC residential energy efficiency requirements, QDC 4.1 will be updated to: 

• remove Queensland’s optional installation of a solar PV energy system 
• remove the ability to use a 2009 version glazing calculator, in favour of the current calculator 
• require compliance with the NCC 2022 7-star rating requirements in new houses and units. 

QDC 4.1 will retain the optional one-star credit for outdoor living areas for new houses and expand it state-wide for new apartment buildings. This optional credit recognises Queensland’s unique outdoor housing design and lifestyle. 

The amended QDC 4.1 will commence on 1 May 2024 

Further information and support

• Housing Energy Efficiency Calculator
• Australian Building Codes Board Resource library
• ABCB FAQ Energy Efficiency changes
• Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works
• Modern Homes
• NatHERS

From 1 October 2023, phase 1 of the Modern Homes accessibility standards commences. 

National Construction Code 2022 (NCC) provisions – Livable Housing Design Standard provides for: 

• a step-free path to the entrance
• at least one step-free entry into the home
• slightly wider internal doorways and corridors
• an accessible toilet
• a step-free (hobless) shower
• provision for future inclusion of grabrails in an accessible bathroom and toilet.

The Queensland Government has released the Queensland Development Code – Mandatory Part 4.5 – Livable dwellings and grading to floor wastes (QDC MP4.5) for application to class 1 buildings and sole-occupancy units in class 2 buildings. The QDC MP4.5 facilitates the adoption of the livable housing design and grading to floor waste provision in the NCC by providing additional acceptable solutions and appropriate transitional arrangements.

QDC MP4.5 new accessibility variations provide for: 

• Time limited exemption of 18 months to 31 March 2025 from the accessibility standards for: 
  • New houses on narrow lots with a frontage of 12.5metres wide or less, created prior to 1 October 2023 or created after that date and on or before 31 March 2025 in limited circumstances.
  • Small pre-built houses 55 m² or less in floor area wholly or predominately manufactured off-site completed prior to 1 October 2023 and constructed on or prior to 31 March 2025.
  • Exemptions form the accessibility standards for a compliant toilet on the ground or entry level of a house in limited circumstances and for repairs and maintenance generally.
• Exemptions for renovations of toilets and bathrooms in existing homes including from the requirements to provide: 
  • wider doorways unless the renovation involves demolition of the existing doorway
  • a larger toilet area unless the renovation increases the size of the toilet area
  • reinforcement for grabrails unless the wall framing is exposed.
• Additional solutions that do not require the grading of a floor where a floor waste is voluntarily included in a bathroom, and for showers and sanitary compartments (if there is no habitable room on the ground or entry level) to achieve compliance with the accessibility standards. 

Transitional arrangements and new building guideline

Section 37 of the Building Act 1975 provides transitional arrangements when building assessment provisions change, such as the introduction of the Modern Homes standards.

Section 37 allows a development approval to be given under the provisions that were in place prior to the new building assessment provision applying when:

• the approved building work starts before the commencement date of the new building assessment provision
• the building development approval was given before the commencement date of the new building assessment provision, but the building work has not yet started
• a building development application is made before the commencement date of the new building assessment provision, but the application has not yet been decided
• planning for carrying out the building work started before the commencement date of the new building assessment provision and the building certifier can certify the following in writing:
  • that substantial progress was made on the design of the building, or the design was completed before the commencement date e.g. this might be evidenced by a signed building contract referring to the design or plans
  • the design would need to be changed to comply with the amended provision
  • the changes needed are not minor changes. 

Additional information for building certifiers 

The Department of Energy & Public Works (the Department) has prepared a guideline to assist building certifiers to apply transitional provisions – Guideline for applying transitional arrangements when building requirements change (epw.qld.gov.au) (August 2023).

The Department have developed a non-mandatory Form 77 Variation to building assessment provisions to assist building certifiers document decisions about the transitional provisions.  

Update to standard

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has issued a correction to the Livable Housing Design Standard (the standard).

This change clarifies that the total ramp lengths and the corresponding gradients nominated in Clause 1.1(4)(a) of the standard are the parameters applicable to the concession in NCC Volume Two H8D2(2). For example, a step-free pathway need not be provided should that pathway necessitate more than 15 m of ramps (not including landings) at 1:20 gradient (see Clause 1.1(4)(a)(ii)).

For more information on the standard, including application of the concession, refer to the ABCB Livable Housing Design Handbook.

The National Construction Code (NCC) is produced by the Australian Building Code Board (ABCB). As a performance-based code, it sets the minimum required level for the safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability of certain buildings. 

What you need to know

NCC 2022 commenced on 1 May 2023 with additional release of the Modern Homes standards commencing in two phases:  

• Phase 1 of the Modern Homes accessibility standards commenced on 1 October 2023.  
• Phase 2 Modern Homes energy efficiency standards commenced on 1 May 2024.

QBCC contractor licensees, building certifiers, designers and homeowners should make themselves aware of the new provisions and what is required for new or renovated homes from 1 October 2023.

For Queenslanders, the Queensland Development Code (QDC) also provides guidance on matters outside the scope of the NCC, or in addition to it. Note that the QDC’s state-based variations prevail over the NCC in Queensland.

Looking for more?

While electrical work regulated under the Electrical Safety Act 2002 is not regulated by the QBCC, many electricians will hold a QBCC licence for other fire protection work. If you fit into this category, here is some information you may need to know.

Applying for a licence

As an occupational worker

If you are a licensed electrical mechanic seeking to hold a fire protection – electrical stream occupational – install and maintain – fire alarm systems licence, you may apply for the licence and rely on your electrical mechanic’s licence to meet the technical qualifications. Please note you do not require a QBCC licence to carry our electrical work on fire protection equipment.

Non-electricians can also apply for this occupational licence but will require a Certificate III in Fire Protection Control UEE31020 or a course the QBCC considers is at least equivalent.

As a contractor or nominee supervisor

Electrical mechanics may rely on their electrical mechanic licence to partly meet the technical requirements to hold a Fire protection- electrical stream– install and maintain– fire alarm systems class as either a contractor or nominee supervisor. In addition to their electrical mechanic licence, they will need to hold 15 mandatory units of competency.

Applicants who do not hold a current electrical mechanic licence must hold a Certificate III in Fire Protection Control UEE31020 (or equivalent) and 9 of the 15 units of competency.

Applicants for contractor and nominee supervisor licence types also need to meet experience, fit and proper, and managerial requirements. Applicants for contractor licences must also meet minimum financial requirements.

You can find more information about the current technical qualifications required and how to apply under fire protection – electrical – install and maintain – fire alarm systems licence class on the QBCC website. 

What are my upskilling requirements?

Occupational licence type

Licensees who already hold the fire protection – electrical stream occupational – install and maintain – fire alarm systems licence, may be subject to upskilling requirements if they transitioned from a former fire class on 1 May 2021. This includes those who applied for the former class and were approved for the new class after 1 May 2021.

The upskilling requirements vary depending on whether the licensee holds an electrical mechanic licence.

Licensed electrical mechanics who already hold a fire protection – electrical stream occupational – install and maintain – fire alarm systems licence will not be required to upskill.

Licensees who do not hold an Electrical mechanic licence issued under the Electrical Safety Office are required to show that they have completed the Certificate III in fire Protection Control (UEE31011) by 1 May 2025 to satisfy their Upskilling Requirements.

Contractor or nominee supervisor licence type

Licensed electrical mechanics in either the contractor or nominee supervisor licence type, must meet the upskilling requirement by 1 May 2025. This can be met through holding a current electrical mechanic’s licence and providing the following six units of competency:

• Prevent ozone depleting substance and synthetic greenhouse gas emissions (CPPFES2043A)
• Enter and verify programs for fire protection systems (UEEEC0026)
• Install fire detection and warning systems apparatus (UEEEC0041)
• Repairs basic electronic apparatus faults by replacement of components (UEEEC0060)
• Verify compliance and functionality of fire protection system installation (UEEEC0076)
• Install and maintain cabling for multiple access to telecommunication services (UEEDV0005)

For licensees who do not hold an electrical mechanic licence and have not completed the Certificate III in Fire Protection Control (UEE31011) before 1 May 2021, the additional competency unit of Inspect and test emergency and exit lighting systems (CPPFES2026A) will be required.

It is important to note that Licensees have until 1 May 2025 to provide documentation to the QBCC that they have completed the Upskilling requirements.

More information

If you have any questions about fire protection upskilling requirements or wish to lodge upskilling documentation, you can email them to fireupskilling@qbcc.qld.gov.au

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Under the BIF Act a business day is any day that:

•  is not a Saturday or Sunday
• is not a public holiday or
• does not fall between 22 December and 10 January.

The last business day for 2023 is Thursday 21 December and the first business day for 2024 is Thursday 11 January.

Why is it important to be aware of this?

It is important to be aware of these dates due to office closures, payment rights and obligations and the strict timeframes for some payment dispute processes that also involve this definition of business day.

What does this mean when giving a payment claim?

You may be paid later than you were expecting. You should also consider the impact that this may have on timeframes for certain payment dispute processes.

What does this mean when receiving a payment claim?

You may have longer to respond to a payment claim received.

Reminder: Under the BIF Act, the default due date for a progress payment is 10 business days after a payment claim is given, unless otherwise stated in the contract.

A person that receives a payment claim and does not intend to pay the amount in full by the due date for payment should respond with a payment schedule. A payment schedule must be given within 15 business day or earlier if stated in the contract.

Communication is important

It is recommended that you communicate with the person that has given you a payment claim advising whether or not you intend to pay before the commencement of the non-business day period and why.

Examples of how the non-business day period impacts due dates for payment:

• if an invoice is given on 21 December 2023, the first business day after will be 11 January 2024 and the due date for payment would be calculated from this date.
• if an invoice is given between 22 December 2023 and 10 January 2024 it will be taken to have been received on 11 January 2024 and the due date for payment would be calculated from 12 January 2024.

The Building Amendment Regulation 2022 (Amendment Regulation) has now been approved.

The amendments extend existing professional indemnity insurance exemption arrangements for private building certifiers and clarify inspection requirements associated with stages of assessable building work.

Key changes

The BR 2021 continues to support the objectives of the Building Act 1975 and generally maintains the obligations and requirements in the BR 2006. The Amendment Regulation will make the following changes to the BR 2021.

Professional indemnity insurance

The exemption period that allows building certifiers to hold professional indemnity insurance with an exclusion relating to external cladding has been extended from 30 June 2022 to 30 June 2023.

The amendment will:

• extend the exemption period that allows private building certifiers to hold an external cladding related exclusion on their professional indemnity insurance policies for a further 12-months.
• give private building certifiers clarity on when their licences will be effective following the expiry of the exemption period on 30 June 2023.
• allow an exempted licence (issued on or before 30 June 2023) to continue to apply until the exempted licence expires. For example, if the private certifier holds an exempted licence that expires on 12 September 2023, the licence is current to that date. On renewal, the professional indemnity insurance required will be as prescribed in legislation.

Inspection requirements

Amendments to the BR 2021 have been made to clarify some of the inspection requirements for stages of assessable building work.

Amendments clarify who must inspect and approve stages of assessable building work for singledetached class 1a buildings and relevant class 10 buildings or structures.

The amendments clarify that for a single detached class 1a building or a relevant class 10 building or structure:

• the building certifier remains responsible for signing the certificate of inspection for the excavation, footings and/or slab and final stage
• for the excavation, footings and/or slab stages, the building certifier may rely on an aspect inspection certificate (from relevant competent persons) for each aspect of the stage to sign the certificate of inspection for the stage
• the building certifier is not required to personally inspect the excavation, footings and/or slab stages of inspection, provided the above conditions are met.

For single detached class 1a buildings, it remains a requirement for a competent person (for inspections) providing help for boundary clearance work to be a cadastral surveyor. For single detached class 1a buildings, a competent person providing inspection help for building work involving the reinforcement of footings system and formwork and reinforcement for a slab, must be a registered professional engineer.

The amendments also clarify that a building certifier must sign the certificate of inspection for the following stages of single detached class 1a and relevant class 10 buildings or structures: 

• after the excavation of foundation material and before the concrete for the footings, or slab for the building or structure is poured
• if the building or structure is to have footings – after the placement of formwork and reinforcement for the footings but before the concrete for the footings is poured
• if the building or structure is to have a slab – after the placement of formwork and reinforcement for the slab but before the concrete for the slab is poured.

For relevant class 10 buildings or structures, the above requirements regarding the excavation, footings and slab stage inspections only apply where the assessing building certifier has specified the inspection as a requirement of their building development approval.

It remains a requirement for a building certifier also to sign the certificate of inspection for the final stage of work for both single detached class 1a buildings and class 10 buildings or structures.

More information

For more information on the new legislation, visit the Department of Energy and Public Works website. 

For more building industry information, please visit the Business Queensland website. 

Related enquiries

To provide feedback or any related enquiries, use our Feedback & Enquiries form or visit the Contact us page.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) supports Queenslanders by:

• providing Australian-leading insurance that helps to safeguard building work
• helping make sure builders are licensed, work is done to standard and any defects are rectified
• helping protect the building and construction industry from unscrupulous contractors
• working to help tradies get paid.

For licensees

• Protecting your payments
• Options for resolving payment disputes
• Adjudication
• Monies owed complaint
• Preventing and handling disputes
• Home warranty insurance obligations

For home owners

• Using licensed contractors
• Queensland Home Warranty Scheme
• Building or renovating
• Defective work
• Subsidence
• Contracts

The amendments were made to the scope of work to match the qualifications and endorsements held by a licensee. For example, the amendment will ensure that a person who performs work on fire sprinkler systems must hold a licence that has appropriate qualifications or endorsements for this work. 

From 31 March 2022, the scope of work for the above class will be restricted unless the licensee holds a relevant Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 (PD Act) licence or other prescribed qualification.  

The current scope of work for the fire protection–water-based system–install and maintain–commercial and industry includes: 

• install and maintain commercial and industrial fire sprinkler systems install and maintain fire hydrant systems, with or without pumps 
• install and maintain fire hose reels, with or without pumps  
• install fire collars if the installation is incidental to the above work.  

For licensees who cannot demonstrate they hold the relevant PD Act licence or prescribed qualifications by 31 March 2022, the scope of work for this class will be limited to: 

• install and maintain fire hydrant systems, with or without pumps 
• install and maintain fire hose reels, with or without pumps 
• install fire collars if the installation is incidental to the above work. 

From 31 March 2022, licensees must ensure they only carry out work within their scope that applies to them. 

Do I need to act to retain my scope of work? 

It’s important to consider that a PD Act licence is required to personally perform or supervise regulated plumbing work, including the installation and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems. 

To help licensees and consumers to identify which scope of work applies, the QBCC will note licence scope restrictions on the licensee register.  

No further action will be required by licensees who already hold the PD Act licence unless otherwise contacted by the QBCC directly. 

Licensees who transitioned to this class from the former Part 26 Sprinkler and suppression systems (reticulated water-based)—install and maintain—restricted to commercial or industrial type licence, are not affected by these changes, and will also retain a full scope of work. 

What do I need to do to retain my scope of work?  

To retain the full scope of work from 31 March 2022, licence class holders must demonstrate that they hold at least one of the following: 

Relevant Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 licences 

• current restricted water plumber—fire protection (commercial and industrial) licence 
• current plumbers licence with a fire protection – commercial and industrial endorsement 
• current provisional plumbers licence with a fire protection – commercial and industrial endorsement.  

Prescribed qualifications  

• Certificate III in Fire Protection (CPC32813) 
• a technical qualification currently prescribed for the part 26 fire protection—water-based fire system stream—install and maintain—restricted to commercial and industrial types licence. This can be a Certificate III in Fire Protection (CPC32820), including the below units of competency: 
  • Conduct basic functional testing of water-based fire-suppression systems CPCPFS3040 
  • Conduct functional water flow testing CPCPFS3043 
  • Read and interpret plans and specifications CPCCBC4012 
  • Carry out work-based risk control processes CPCPCM4011 
  • Estimate and cost work CPCPCM4012 
  • Prepare simple drawings CPCPCM3024 
  • Establish legal and risk management requirements of new business ventures BSBESB402 
  • Plan finances for new business ventures BSBESB403 
  • Research and develop business plans BSBESB401 
  • Commission fire system pumpsets CPCPFS4023 
  • Commission fire sprinkler systems CPCPFS4027. 

For company licensees, the scope of work for company licence will be the same as the scope that applies to their nominee.  

Licensees who continue the full scope of work on the basis they hold the prescribed technical qualifications, should provide a copy of the prescribed qualification to the QBCC as soon as possible (unless the qualification was provided after 1 May 2021, in which case this does not apply). 
 
Visit the fire protection resources page of the QBCC website for the relevant application forms. If you have any questions about this change, call us on 139 333.

What are the key changes?  

The new BR 2021 does not include any significant policy changes and continues to support the objectives of the Building Act 1975 (BA) to regulate building certifiers and ensure buildings and structures are compliant with the relevant building assessment provisions.  

Administrative changes  

To make requirements easier to understand the new BR 2021 provides updates to the language used and the format, bringing it into line with other legislation. Elements that no longer apply have been removed and wording and numbering has also been updated.  

Clarifications of the inspection framework  

The following changes have been made to clarify:  

• when a building certifier, or an appointed competent person, can accept certain documentation (an aspect certificate)   
• that a relevant building certifier is not required to appoint another building certifier as a competent person to sign a compliance certificate for certain mandatory stages of work for detached Class 1a (houses) or class 10 buildings (sheds) or structures (decks)  
• that while a competent person can give inspection help to the building certifier, it is a building certifier’s responsibility to issue the noncompliance notice and take the relevant enforcement action. Note: these amendments also recognise that a builder has appeal rights when a notice is issued by the building certifier, however, no appeal rights exist when a notice is issued by a competent person  
• when prescribing the excavation for the footing system and/or slab as a stage of work, all aspects of the work must be inspected and assessed for compliance with the building development approval  
• for a single detached class 1a building (house) a stage of work for a footing system includes all types of footing including a slab.  

Updates have been made to relevant building forms to support these changes. Three new forms have also be created:  

• Form 12—aspect inspection certificate (appointed competent person)
• Form 43—aspect certificate (QBCC licensee)
• Form 30—QBCC licensee aspect certificate for accepted development (self-assessable).

Other changes include:   

• increase the maximum penalty for giving false or misleading documents/certificates to a building certifier to strengthen the certification process  
• keep existing local governments’ powers to help manage bushfire prone areas, areas with flood risks, and simple building work in their local areas  
• continuing the combustible cladding checklist obligations for private building owner which strengthen fire safety for building occupants.  

For more information on the new BR 2021 including changes to existing forms and information about new forms visit the Department of Energy and Public Works website.